A federal lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Maryland last Friday by a 15-year-old girl under the pseudonym Mary Smith, and her mother, identified as Jane Doe against the Frederick County Board of Education and Superintendent Theresa Alban, according to the Frederick News-Post.
The lawsuit argues that a policy approved in June by the Frederick County Board of Education violates the girl’s fundamental right to bodily privacy, and her mother’s fundamental parental rights regarding the care and upbringing of her child.
The policy allows students to choose the restroom based on their gender identity as well as participate in sports that are consistent with their gender identity. It would also allow students the opportunity to room with others according to their gender identity.
Board of Education President Brad Young told WFMD in June that the guidelines have been issued to each school regarding the treatment of transgender students, and adopting a policy would put this practice in writing.
“This is in practice what Frederick County Public Schools have been doing for the past six years, and now we’re putting into a policy to formalize it,” he said.